Jackson and I started our morning with a walk to the little park in our neighborhood. He was happily throwing wood chips onto the slide when a man jogged past us. Jackson immediately took off, climbed out of the wood chip-filled playground pit and chased after the man, hollering “Da Da, Da Da.”

To my child’s credit, the man was bald like his daddy. He is close to the same age and height as his daddy with a similar build. The man was wearing nothing but a pair of royal blue athletic shorts almost identical to his daddy’s coaching shorts. In fact, the only tiny difference I could see between the jogger and his daddy was that the jogger’s bald head and broad shoulders were as black as a cup of coffee and his daddy is as white as a splash of cream.

I quickly grabbed Jackson and distracted him pointing to a fountain in the pond nearby. Thankfully, I don’t think the guy heard him. That could have been an awkward conversation. Um sorry, he thinks your his dad. Well, I mean, you look kind of like his dad. Not really. You’re bald and wear blue shorts that’s kind of it. Well, uh, have a nice run. I’ll see you at the paternity results hearing. Haha. Just kidding. <<Insert me laughing overly loud at my own bad joke.>>

We headed home for lunch and nap time, then met a friend at our city park. After a busted lip (Jackson’s) on the playground equipment, we meandered over to the volleyball pit, or in a 1-year old’s world, the biggest sandbox ever. Within minutes, Jackson dropped to his knees, held his hands up to the sky, then dropped them to the ground in an “I’m not worthy” bow. With his mouth wide-open, he took a big bite of sand, sat back up on his knees and smiled. Whoa-oa-oa-oa!! Excellent! Party Time! (Are Wayne’s World references out of style yet?)

Yes, today was a two park kind of day, a soak in the sun and giggle at my crazy kid kind of day. This weekend we had our first rainy cold front, though. It was a cuddle up and eat a bowl of warm soup kind of weekend. On Saturday, I sauteed up a whole bulb of garlic and a pound of mushrooms for a big batch of creamy potato soup. And on Sunday, I combined two of the coziest most comforting recipes, pot pie and shepherds pie, and made a topless veggie pot pie using the potato soup as the filling.

These two healthy recipes will warm you up without sacrificing your figure for those glorious two park days that pop up in between Texas cold fronts.

In a large pot, cover potatoes with water and bring to a boil. Boil until potatoes are fork tender.

Heat olive oil on medium heat in a skillet, add mushrooms and stir occasionally until they soft and browned. Add garlic and a pinch of salt, saute until garlic is translucent. (Hint: Smash unpeeled garlic with the side of a wide chef’s knife to quickly pop off the peel and smash the clove simultaneously.)

Add garlic after mushrooms are browned and soft.

In a food processor, blend mushrooms and garlic (minus a few for garnish if desired), add potatoes and 1 cup of liquid. Blend again. Add remaining liquid. Season with salt and pepper to taste (it may take up to a few teaspoons.) Blend until smooth. If needed, warm up on medium low in the pot the potatoes were cooking in.

Be sure to reserve 1 1/2 – 3 cups of soup for a pie or two!

Perfect for a rainy day

Topless Veggie Pot Pie

(using leftover Creamy Mushroom Soup)

3-4 servings (if you’re like me, you’ll wish you made two pies, so I suggest doubling the recipe)

In a large skillet, heat olive oil on medium to medium high heat. Add onions and a pinch of salt, saute until soft. Add vegetables and season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Saute five more minutes. Pour in mushroom soup and season with nutmeg. Cook for 5-10 minutes on medium heat, stirring occasionally.

Rachel, this is so fun. I can totally see Jackson doing both things. When I took him to the big sandbox at the park in Oregon, he did that same thing. Dropped to his knees, his hands feeling the sand in absolute awe and wonder, lifting them and smiling as the sand slowly ran down his arms… It was….kind of a worshipful moment. LIke watching a baby praise God for sand.